Global Stocks Mostly Down Monday

TOKYO (AP) -- Global stock markets were mostly lower Monday, following the drop of technology shares last week on Wall Street.

KEEPING SCORE: France's CAC 40 edged down 0.4 percent to 5,277.37 in early trading, while Germany's DAX dropped 0.4 percent to 12,762.08. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 7,512.20. U.S. shares were set to drift lower, with Dow futures slipping 0.1 percent to 21,186. S&P 500 futures were also lower, down 0.1 percent, at 2,424,90.

ASIA'S DAY: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.5 percent to finish at 19,908.58. South Korea's Kospi slipped 1.0 percent to 2,357.87. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.3 percent to 25,703.83, while the Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.6 percent to 3,139.88. Trading was closed in Australia for a national holiday.

CENTRAL BANKS: Market players are watching central banks' meetings in Britain and the U.S. later this week. Analysts say the Fed is likely to raise interest rates, while the Bank of England is expected to keep them unchanged. The Bank of Japan is also meeting on monetary policy later this week, but little is expected to impact markets, they say.

THE QUOTE: "The start of the week may be quiet, but we'll get monetary policy decisions from the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and Bank of Japan on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, respectively. The Fed will be of particular interest with markets now fully pricing in a rate hike and instead more concerned with whether they'll signal another this year or focus more on balance sheet reduction," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA.

WALL STREET: The S&P 500 index fell 2.02 points, or 0.1 percent, to end last week at 2,431.77. The Dow gained 89.44 points, or 0.4 percent, to 21,271.97. The Nasdaq declined 113.85 points, or 1.8 percent, to 6,207.92. The Russell 2000 picked up 6.09 points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,421.71. The indexes also closed out the week unevenly after several days of trading in a mostly narrow range.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude added 8 cents to $45.91 a barrel. It gained 19 cents to $45.83 a barrel in New York last week. Brent crude, used to price international oils, added 11 cents to $48.26 a barrel in London.

CURRENCIES: The pound lost more than 2 cents versus the dollar after the Conservatives lost their majority in Parliament, which could create disarray in Britain's negotiations to leave the European Union, due to start June 19. The pound was slightly higher at $1.2736, up from $1.2721. The dollar weakened to 110.21 yen from 110.36 late Friday in Asia. The euro strengthened to $1.1225 from $1.1182.

(KA)